Its all English to me... by the Greek
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Thanks to BQ great scheduling and Townsville hitting brick walls at Hibiscus and Logan, all of a sudden the race for a home final is becoming interesting.
Townsville is at 10-2 and has a tough fortnight facing Gladstone, Rockhampton and Cairns away. Townsville essentially want to win their remaining games and not get into complications. They have the spilt on Brisbane and Rockhampton (+9). If they lose one game they don’t have the split against Logan. Saturday night game against Rockhampton should be a cracker of game.
Logan is the main benefactors of a Rockhampton win on Saturday, putting a foot in the door for hosting finals. They have to get through Brisbane (home) and South West (away) in the last two weeks.
Brisbane still have a change for home final but need a lot of things for go right for them. Need to essentially win out the rest of the season (Including a 18 point or more win against Logan) and Townsville to lose at least two games.
Townsville losses on the weekend have given the north a legitimate scare with a strong chance that the north might only get two teams into the playoffs. Rockhampton and Mackay are fighting for that second spot. If Rockhampton win on Saturday they should have second place in the north. If third place in the north pool is still in play Mackay has an advantage over Cairns
South West and Ipswich are the main contenders for top spot in the South. South West has the easier schedule of the two, but the Rollers could throw a spanner in the works. Gold Coast are not out of the equation for second spot either so South West need to take care of the two remaining games against Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast Phoenix. Ipswich on the other hand needs to beat one out of Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton to have a shot at first place
Another benefactor of Townsville misfortune is Sunshine Coast Phoenix. If Logan or Brisbane can get a home final, that equates the third place team in the central pool being in playoffs, with the Phoenix-Clippers in the prime position. If they can beat one out of Bundaberg (home), South West (home), Gladstone (home) or Ipswich (away) it's hard to envision SC Rip or Bundaberg leapfrogging them for third place.
How bad the state of Bundaberg Basketball is. I won't get to the details of Daniel Sims fiasco, but given his reputation of a player with a volatile temper, make me wonder where is the leadership in that club. I understand you are desperate for players cos frankly your locals are not up to the QBL standard and you can't attract any decent unrestricted players, but if you didn't have that senior players or the coaching/management willing to guide him, why take the risk in the first place. Bundaberg women comprehensive lost to SC Rip at home. Its funny when Rockhampton visited Bundaberg two weeks ago, Darren Roche was telling local media how weak Rockhampton bench is. Shanavia Dowdell wasn’t available for the Cyclones and his far more superior bench committed 16 turnovers in a 3 point loss. Karma obviously leaving its bite marks with Bundaberg unable to take care of a team that is consistently hammer week in and week out. With 3 losses at home to Central teams and a FNQ roadtrip still to come it seems Bears chances of a playoff spot are sliding fast.
I watch the Ipswich and Toowoomba women's game. If the league is satisfied with that level or refereeing that was exhibited in that game, then i feel sorry for everyone that is involved in this sport. While an Ipswich / Toowoomba women's game isn't going to set the world on fire, there was enough promise in the beginning that could have made it into an exciting game. Basketball games should be determined by the players on the court, not the egos that have a whistle around their necks.
Speaking of Ipswich / Toowoomba, that men’s game was amazingly entertaining. Prior to the last quarter of the games, i seriously thought that Ipswich court announcer was one of the worst i have ever heard (imagine the voice of a supermarket announcer calling cleanup on aisle 3). Once Ipswich started making that comeback holy crap she turned into a crazed Icelandic football announcer! It was so hilarious, she’s was so into it, lost her voice and her mind several times during OT she didn't even realise the game had ended in favor of Ippy! Amazing!EndFragment
